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Congress MP Sonia Gandhi said that President Murmu appeared to be tired by the end of her speech and that “she could hardly speak”
Congress MP Sonia Gandhi called President Murmu a “poor thing” and added that “she could hardly speak”. (Courtesy: ANI)
A fresh controversy erupted at the beginning of the Budget Session on Friday morning after Congress MP Sonia Gandhi while commenting on President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the Parliament called her a “poor thing”.
Gandhi’s comments came as she tried to show her concerns for the 66-year-old president who to her appeared exhausted after delivering her long customary speech, however, the BJP criticised it and called it a “derogatory comment”.
The president had earlier in the day addressed a Parliament’s joint sitting which marked the start of the Budget Session.
When Gandhi was asked to comment on the president’s customary speech, she said, “The President was getting very tired by the end. She could hardly speak, poor thing.”
#WATCH | Delhi | After the President’s address to the Parliament, Congress MP Sonia Gandhi says,”…The President was getting very tired by the end…She could hardly speak, poor thing…” pic.twitter.com/o6cwoeYFdE— ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2025
Gandhi was accompanied by her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. “Boring? No comments? Repeating the same thing again and again?” she added.
Rahul Gandhi also appeared to help his mother as she commented on the president.
BJP Attacks Gandhi, Calls Her Remark ‘Derogatory’
The BJP slammed Gandhi for her “derogatory” remark on President Murmu and said that it is the feudal mindset of the Congress which fails to digest that an Adivasi lady is the country’s president.
“It was a derogatory comment. Leaders like Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should not pass such comments, especially on the President. Droupadi Murmu belongs to an Adivasi family and now she is the number one citizen of our country and that is not accepted by the Congress’s zamindaari mindset. That’s why they are opposing her speech,” BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar said.
Sonia Gandhi referring to the President as a ‘poor thing’ demeans the high office and reflects her feudal mindset. This is not the first time the Congress has ridiculed the first tribal woman to hold the highest constitutional office in the country.Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of…
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) January 31, 2025
Meanwhile, BJP leader Amit Malviya wrote on X, “Sonia Gandhi referring to the President as a ‘poor thing’ demeans the high office and reflects her feudal mindset. This is not the first time the Congress has ridiculed the first tribal woman to hold the highest constitutional office in the country. Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition, who frequently flaunts a copy of the Constitution, has not even considered making a courtesy visit to the President.”
BJP leader J P Nadda also strongly criticised Gandhi’s remarks. “I and every @BJP4India Karyakarta STRONGLY CONDEMNS the usage of the phrase “poor thing” by Smt. Sonia Gandhi for Honourable President of India, Droupadi Murmu Ji. The deliberate usage of such words shows the elitist, anti-poor and anti-tribal nature of the Congress Party. I demand that the Congress Party unconditionally apologise to the Honourable President and the tribal communities of India,” he wrote on X.
Congress Defends Gandhi’s Remarks, Says It Was Her ‘Empathy’ For President
Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi came out in defence of Gandhi and said that BJP’s men failed to digest her empathy for President Murmu.
“Smt. Sonia Gandhi’s empathy for Hon’ble President Draupadi Murmu ji’s health cannot be digested by the men in BJP. Every person in India has respect and empathy for the President. Will the BJP answer for the disrespect shown to President Murmu when she was not invited to the inauguration of the Parliament or the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya ? I challenge them to answer this question,” said Gogoi on X.
